Trustees & Observers

Chair: Dr Martin W Shirley, CBE. 


Former director of the Institute for Animal Health. Co-Developer of the first live attenuated vaccine against coccidiosis (Paracox). Martin was also, until recently Chair of the three separate poultry-directed Technical Advisory Committees (chicken, turkeys and ducks) for the Red Tractor Farm Assurance Scheme.


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​​Mr James Corbett
Managing Director of the Ridgeway Food Group which is a large privately owned producer, packer and marketer of eggs to retail and wholesale customers. Prior to this James managed two other large commercial egg companies, Stonegate and Clarence Court Eggs, following 10 years working for Deloitte. 

 

Vice Chair: Mr Jeffrey Vergerson

Chairman of the British Egg Association, Treasurer of the British Egg Industry Council, member of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association Board, Chairman of the LION Passport Training Committee and Chair of the Management Committee of the Organic Food Federation. Jeff is a specialist consultant on the free-range sector and was an active producer until 2017.
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​Mr Duncan Priestner
Until his retirement in late 2023, Duncan was partner in a Cheshire family farm that included a pullet rearing unit and egg production unit of over 100,000 laying hens, packing and marketing his own eggs. Duncan was Chairman of the National Farmers' Union Poultry Board up until Spring 2018 and continues in active NFU work.

Dr Sue Baigent - Observer
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 Sue has worked at the Pirbright Institute since 1991 and her broad research interest is in protection of chickens against Marek's disease by vaccination. She has developed molecular methods to test chickens for the presence of the vaccine virus strains, and pathogenic virus strains by testing feather samples, so allowing non-invasive testing of chickens.  Sue currently works part-time as Technical Manager of the Marek’s disease virus reference laboratory.
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​Mr John Widdowson
John is currently a Technical Consultant for Hy-Line UK, which is one of the leading producers and distributors of day-old chicks to the egg industry across the UK and Ireland. Prior to his consultancy work, John was a free range egg producer for 30 years and founding member of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. 

Dr Paul Britton
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Paul is an Honorary Fellow of the Pirbright Institute and was responsible for the development of the first reverse genetics system for IBV, allowing the generation of recombinant viruses with specific mutations. Paul is an Editor on Nidoviruses and positive stand RNA viruses for the Journal of General Virology and a Member of the Houghton Trust.



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